


Ryoko's Story: The Rebel

by notgeorgelucas



Series: The Bits [1]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Gen, and she SMOKES, she slouches, she uses inappropriate language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:41:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25699729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notgeorgelucas/pseuds/notgeorgelucas
Summary: The leader of the Agni Kai Triad in Republic City gets an unexpected late-night visit from one of her relatives.
Series: The Bits [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1863814
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Ryoko's Story: The Rebel

(170 AG)

“Sloppy.”

The figure in the bed didn’t respond, much to the speaker’s disgust. “Had I been an assassin, my dear, you’d be long dead,” she added a moment later.

With a long, heavy sigh Ryoko rolled over and sat up. “Auntie,” she said in a tired, resigned voice, “you’ve been sitting there for fifteen minutes hissing to yourself. And besides that, you smell like dragon. You’re about as stealthy as a fart.” She reached over to the nightstand for her cigarettes. “By the way, where is Druk?”

“Up on the roof. He ate before we came here, don’t worry. I know you have a soft spot for him.”

“Just make sure he doesn’t crap on the roof when you leave.” Ryoko lit her cigarette with one finger and took a long draw. “So what the hell are you doing here? Does Grandpa know you ran off?”

Azula snorted softly. “Zuzu knows I come and go as I please.”

“So again…why are you here, waking me up in the middle of the night?”

“You’re not glad to see me, grand-niece?”

“Not really, no.” Ryoko stubbed her cigarette out. “I’ve got a lot to do tomorrow, Auntie. I could really do without the midnight visit.”

“Really.” Azula sounded far from impressed.

“Yes, really. It isn’t easy running the Agni Kais.”

“Oh please. You’ve been doing it for years with ease. In fact, you won’t admit it but you’re bored.”

“Hardly,” Ryoko said without much conviction.

“Well, luckily I have a new assignment for you,” Azula declared. “Tomorrow, my dear, you are going to leave all this behind and become an acolyte on Air Temple Island.”

Ryoko snorted and rolled her eyes. “And why the hell would I do something that stupid?”

“Because I told you to,” Azula hissed, then caught herself. “You are going to work your way up to the main household, where you will assist my granddaughter…and keep her safe. The children, too. The Blowhard…” She sniffled disdainfully. “You’re taking up bodyguard duty, grand-niece.”

Ryoko lit another cigarette. “Seriously?”

“Oh yes. By the way, enjoy those while you can. The Blowhard has banned smoking on his precious island. Claims it pollutes and defiles the air.” She rolled her eyes. “Idiot.”

“Does this have anything to do with those idiot Equalists?” Ryoko said after a moment.

“Very much so.” A soft blue halo flickered around Azula’s body. “The Blowhard proved himself utterly incapable of protecting his family. I will not have my granddaughter’s life threatened.”

Ryoko took a long draw from her cigarette, deep in thought. “So you want me to just drop everything I’m doing here? No one’s going to believe I’ve had a change of heart, you know. I lead the most dangerous criminal organization in the city.”

Azula snorted. “Criminal? You police your own territory. Your people check in on the elderly and ailing. You feed the hungry, you provide them a safe place to sleep, you put on the best annual street fair in this city…you’re about as criminal as your mother. Mind you,” she added with a sly smile, “it’s good training for when you’ll become…”

“Stop.” Ryoko raised a hand. “Iroh’s going to be the next Fire Lord. Not me. That was decided a long time ago, and I’m fine with that.”

“We’ll see, my dear. I certainly have. At any rate…make something up to tell your people. I tried to get that Beifong woman to arrest you as a cover story, but she refused. Do you know what she told me? ‘Out of all the problems I’ve got, the Agni Kais are at the bottom of the list. Why should I screw that up?’”

“Really?” Ryoko said with a bit more pride than she’d meant to show.

“Yes, really.” Azula shook her head. “At any rate, you’re going over there tomorrow and become an acolyte. Tell your people whatever you want, or tell them nothing. For all I care, continue to run your little group from over there. It’s certainly within your abilities. But you are going to do this for me, grand-niece.”

“Why should I?”

“Because I told you to,” Azula said in a low, warning growl. “And you know what will happen if you continue to defy me.”

“Okay, okay, you win,” Ryoko declared, raising her hands in surrender. “I’ll go become a…whatever it is they are over there. Sheesh, Auntie. Now, would you leave so I can get some sleep?”

“Very well, grand-niece.” Azula moved to the window on the opposite wall, where Druk had suddenly appeared. “I’ll be watching. Don’t disappoint me.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ryoko grumbled as she settled back in bed. “Shit…me, an acolyte…yeah, right…”

Sleep was a long time in coming that night.

**Author's Note:**

> Ah, Ryoko. My favorite Korra OC.
> 
> A few years back I'd read somewhere about Izumi having a daughter as well as a son, and that there'd been discussion of Mako dating her at some point. One thing led to another and at some point Ryoko started popping up in my Air Temple Island stories. I loved her snarky quips, and the running joke about her stunning resemblance to the Crown Princess was amusing (to me if no one else). And then for some reason I got to wondering...why would she be on the island? And things in my Korraverse slowly came together...and suddenly it made perfect sense (to me at least).
> 
> If you follow my works, you know perfectly well that someday Ryoko, not Iroh, will be the next Fire Lord. I've even got a story in my head about how that comes about, and it goes all the way back to Mai of all people. But those or tales for another time. 
> 
> I know this isn't anywhere near a complete story--I never could manage to get past the opening scene and figure out where the plot was going. Maybe it doesn't need to. But in reading @ourimpavidheroine's short works, I realized there was no reason I couldn't do something similar--and it might get me to writing again. We'll see. At any rate, that's the background behind this unfinished story.


End file.
